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Project Jessie

Project Jessie is a rescue network for lost, stray and abandoned cats and dogs in pounds where they are vulnerable to being sold for research. We also take older animals, medically needy animals, and animals that need socialization or have other challenges. We work in cooperation with many groups and dedicated volunteers to rescue the animals, get them appropriate veterinary care, shelter them and then find them permanent, loving homes.

The practice known as “Pound Seizure”, is mandated under Ontario’s Animals for Research Act, and occurs in other provinces as well. We are fighting to put an end to pound seizure and ban this breach of trust for lost and homeless companion animals in municipal pounds across Canada.

You can help to rescue a cat or dog right now or visit our available dogs for adoptions!Even if you aren’t ready or able to adopt a new animal companion into your life, we have rescue packages available. The sale of these packages helps to provide the funds we need to keep rescuing.

Project Jessie was founded in 1991, and named after a dog that we were one day too late to save from the researchers. Since discovering the severity of the problem, we have been successful in saving about 300 loving animals EVERY YEAR – over 3500 sweet, adoptable companion animals since the program began!

Project Jessie, however, is a “bandaid” solution to a problem requiring a legislative solution. While we continue to work to effect municipal and provincial bans on pound seizure, we diligently continue to reduce the supply of companion animals at the source.

What is Pound Seizure?

Pound release or pound seizure is the practice of selling lost, stray and abandoned cats and dogs from pounds, to registered research facilities. These facilities include private and government laboratories, hospitals, universities and schools. Ontario’s Animals for Research Act, states specifically that pounds must relinquish animals that they have held for at least 72 hours, if they receive a request from a registered facility.

This is a very short period of time – hardly sufficient to find a new home for these animals, nor even sufficient time for someone to find a well loved, but lost family companion.
Dogs are sold to the research facility for a paltry $6 and cats for only $2. Meanwhile, you and I would be required to pay up to $150 for a dog and $80 for a cat if we wanted to adopt them. Simply put, cost and accessibility are contributing factors that make these animals attractive to researchers, considering that purpose-bred research animals can cost hundreds of dollars.

Most pounds do not notify visitors that lost pets in their facilities may be sold for experimentation. Members of the public are not allowed access to information about what becomes of these animals once inside a research facility – even if that facility is publicly funded. Research facilities are not required to disclose whether or not they use animals, including lost pets.

We think it is time that the public was informed about this practice, and we think it’s time for the law to change.Project Jessie pays an adoption fee for many of the animals we rescue, although some facilities who believe that pound seizure is unethical, give us their animals as “no fee adoptions.” On top of this, all animals are spayed/neutered, micro-chipped and vaccinated before being put up for adoption. Some animals also require additional veterinary care such as teeth cleaning, antibiotics, of other medical care.

While the veterinarians are gracious enough to give Project Jessie animals treatment at a reduced cost, the expenses do add up!